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Terms Used In Utah Code 11-42-409

  • Assessment area: means an area, or, if more than one area is designated, the aggregate of all areas within a local entity's jurisdictional boundaries that is designated by a local entity under Part 2, Designating an Assessment Area, for the purpose of financing the costs of improvements, operation and maintenance, or economic promotion activities that benefit property within the area. See Utah Code 11-42-102
  • Assessment method: means the method:
         (6)(a) by which an assessment is levied against benefitted property, whether by frontage, area, taxable value, fair market value, lot, parcel, number of connections, equivalent residential unit, any combination of these methods, or any other method; and
         (6)(b) that, when applied to a benefitted property, accounts for an assessment that meets the requirements of Section 11-42-409. See Utah Code 11-42-102
  • Benefitted property: means property within an assessment area that directly or indirectly benefits from improvements, operation and maintenance, or economic promotion activities. See Utah Code 11-42-102
  • Economic promotion activities: means activities that promote economic growth in a commercial area of a local entity, including:
         (19)(a) sponsoring festivals and markets;
         (19)(b) promoting business investment or activities;
         (19)(c) helping to coordinate public and private actions; and
         (19)(d) developing and issuing publications designed to improve the economic well-being of the commercial area. See Utah Code 11-42-102
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Equivalent residential unit: means a dwelling, unit, or development that is equal to a single-family residence in terms of the nature of its use or impact on an improvement to be provided in the assessment area. See Utah Code 11-42-102
  • Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
  • Governing body: means :
         (22)(a) for a county, city, or town, the legislative body of the county, city, or town;
         (22)(b) for a special district, the board of trustees of the special district;
         (22)(c) for a special service district:
              (22)(c)(i) the legislative body of the county, city, or town that established the special service district, if no administrative control board has been appointed under Section 17D-1-301; or
              (22)(c)(ii) the administrative control board of the special service district, if an administrative control board has been appointed under Section 17D-1-301;
         (22)(d) for the military installation development authority created in Section 63H-1-201, the board, as defined in Section 63H-1-102;
         (22)(e) for the Utah Inland Port Authority, created in Section 11-58-201, the board, as defined in Section 11-58-102; and
         (22)(f) for a public infrastructure district, the board of the public infrastructure district as defined in Section 17D-4-102. See Utah Code 11-42-102
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • Local entity: means :
         (31)(a) a county, city, town, special service district, or special district;
         (31)(b) an interlocal entity as defined in Section 11-13-103;
         (31)(c) the military installation development authority, created in Section 63H-1-201;
         (31)(d) a public infrastructure district under Title 17D, Chapter 4, Public Infrastructure District Act, including a public infrastructure district created by a development authority;
         (31)(e) the Utah Inland Port Authority, created in Section 11-58-201; or
         (31)(f) any other political subdivision of the state. See Utah Code 11-42-102
  • Property: includes real property and any interest in real property, including water rights and leasehold rights. See Utah Code 11-42-102
  • Service: means :
         (48)(a) water, sewer, storm drainage, garbage collection, library, recreation, communications, or electric service;
         (48)(b) economic promotion activities; or
         (48)(c) any other service that a local entity is required or authorized to provide. See Utah Code 11-42-102
  • Unassessed benefitted government property: means property that a local entity may not assess in accordance with Section 11-42-408 but is benefitted by an improvement, operation and maintenance, or economic promotion activities. See Utah Code 11-42-102
  • Voluntary assessment area: means an assessment area that contains only property whose owners have voluntarily consented to an assessment. See Utah Code 11-42-102
     (1)(a) Each local entity that levies an assessment under this chapter:

          (1)(a)(i) except for an appropriate allocation for an unassessed benefitted government property, may not assess a property for more than the amount that the property benefits by the improvement, operation and maintenance, or economic promotion activities;
          (1)(a)(ii) may levy an assessment only for the actual costs that are reasonable; and
          (1)(a)(iii) shall levy an assessment on a benefitted property in an amount that reflects an equitable portion, subject to Subsection (1)(b), of the benefit the property will receive from an improvement, operation and maintenance, or economic promotion activities for which the assessment is levied.
     (1)(b) The local entity, in accounting for a property’s benefit or portion of a benefit received from an improvement, operation and maintenance, or economic promotion activities, shall consider:

          (1)(b)(i) any benefit that can be directly identified with the property; and
          (1)(b)(ii) the property’s roughly equivalent portion of the benefit that is collectively shared by all the assessed properties in the entire assessment area or classification.
     (1)(c) The validity of an otherwise valid assessment is not affected by the fact that the benefit to the property from the improvement does not increase the fair market value of the property.
(2) Subject to Subsection (4), the assessment method a governing body uses to calculate an assessment may be according to frontage, area, taxable value, fair market value, lot, parcel, number of connections, equivalent residential unit, or any combination of these methods, or any other method as the governing body considers appropriate to comply with Subsections (1)(a) and (b).
(3) A local entity that levies an assessment under this chapter for an improvement:

     (3)(a) shall:

          (3)(a)(i)

               (3)(a)(i)(A) levy the assessment on each block, lot, tract, or parcel of property that benefits from the improvement; and
               (3)(a)(i)(B) to whatever depth, including full depth, on the parcel of property that the governing body determines but that still complies with Subsections (1)(a) and (b);
          (3)(a)(ii) make an allowance for each corner lot receiving the same improvement on both sides so that the property is not assessed at the full rate on both sides; and
          (3)(a)(iii) pay for any increase in size or capacity that serves property outside of the assessment area with funds other than those levied by an assessment;
     (3)(b) may:

          (3)(b)(i) use different methods for different improvements in an assessment area;
          (3)(b)(ii) assess different amounts in different classifications, even when using the same method, if acquisition or construction costs differ from classification to classification;
          (3)(b)(iii) allocate a corner lot allowance under Subsection (3)(a)(ii) to all other benefitted property within the assessment area by increasing the assessment levied against the other assessed property in the same proportion as the improvement is assessed;
          (3)(b)(iv) to comply with Subsection (1)(a), levy an assessment within classifications; and
          (3)(b)(v) assess property to replace improvements that are approaching or have exceeded their useful life or to increase the level of service of an existing improvement; and
     (3)(c) may not:

          (3)(c)(i) consider the costs of the additional size or capacity of an improvement that will be increased in size or capacity to serve property outside of the assessment area when calculating an assessment or determining an assessment method; or
          (3)(c)(ii) except for in a voluntary assessment area or as provided in Subsection (3)(b)(v), assess a property for an improvement that would duplicate or provide a reasonably similar service that is already provided to the property.
(4) A local entity that levies an assessment under this chapter for economic promotion activities:

     (4)(a) shall:

          (4)(a)(i) subject to Section 11-42-408, levy the assessment on each benefitted property; and
          (4)(a)(ii) subject to Subsection (4)(d), use an assessment method that, when applied to a benefitted property, meets the requirements of Subsection (1)(a);
     (4)(b) may:

          (4)(b)(i) levy an assessment only on commercial or industrial real property; and
          (4)(b)(ii) create classifications based on property use, or other distinguishing factors, to determine the estimated benefit to the assessed property;
     (4)(c) subject to Subsection (4)(d), may rely on, in addition to the assessment methods described in Subsection (2), estimated benefits from an increase in:

          (4)(c)(i) office lease rates;
          (4)(c)(ii) retail sales rates;
          (4)(c)(iii) customer base;
          (4)(c)(iv) public perception;
          (4)(c)(v) hotel room rates and occupancy levels;
          (4)(c)(vi) property values;
          (4)(c)(vii) the commercial environment from enhanced services;
          (4)(c)(viii) another articulable method of estimating benefits; or
          (4)(c)(ix) a combination of the methods described in Subsections (4)(c)(i) through (viii); and
     (4)(d) may not use taxable value, fair market value, or any other assessment method based on the value of the property as the sole assessment method.
(5) A local entity may levy an assessment that would otherwise violate a provision of this chapter if the owners of all property to be assessed voluntarily enter into a written agreement with the local entity consenting to the assessment.
(6) A local entity may allocate the cost of a benefit received by an unassessed benefitted government property to all other benefitted property within the assessment area by increasing the assessment levied against the other assessed property in the same proportion as the improvement, operation and maintenance, or economic promotion activities are assessed.

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